SUWON, South Korea -- The North Korea soldier, who was shot multiple times and badly wounded while defecting to the South across the heavily armed border earlier this week, underwent a second surgery Wednesday, hospital officials said.

Doctor Lee Cook-jong, a top specialist in the treatment of traumatic injuries and wounds, performed the three-and-a-half-hour surgery starting at 9:30 a.m. at Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, south of Seoul, hospital officials said.

Doctor Lee Cook-jong (Yonhap)

They said that damaged issues were removed during the surgery.

"It wasn't an emergency surgery. This means there has been no sudden change in the patient's condition," a hospital official said.

Officials from the hospital plan to give a press briefing later in the day.

The soldier was shot five or six times by North Korean border guards as he ran across the border and through the truce village of Panmunjeom on Monday. He was taken to the hospital and underwent the first surgery, which lasted about five hours, later that day. (Yonhap)